


The Serial Killer Mask Incident

by killeraj68



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Implied Ayase Alisa/Kousaka Yukiho, Implied Kira Tsubasa/Kousaka Honoka, Mentioned Ayase Alisa, Mentioned Kousaka Honoka, Mentioned Kousaka Yukiho, Murder, Possession, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-01-15 12:37:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21253508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killeraj68/pseuds/killeraj68
Summary: After this experience, μ's learns to never wear a suspicious mask again.Especially Kotori.





	1. Possession

**Author's Note:**

> Plan to release all of this for Halloween...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kotori opens a package and decides to wear what's inside, unknowing the consequences.

It was an ordinary day for Minami Kotori, working on designs in the comfort of her home, with the occasional inquiry from someone concerning her recently stabilized fashion company.

Another sketch was finished when a ring from the intercom interrupted her, meaning she'd gotten up to answer. Kotori sighed in annoyance as the video feed showed a delivery man holding a small package.

In high school, she thought it was cool of Maki to have had one at her house's, or rather small mansion's, gate; she'd agreed with Honoka then. But now it felt like pain to walk over, to open the gate, and other such things with Umi's security measures. It'd only get to her during her work, when random events such as this obstructed her flow, even worse when it was a stranger; she was still nice as ever, or at least considered herself so, outside of her work.

A part of her was concerned as she inspected the received package, not knowing the sender, yet she politely signed off for it anyway. Maybe she shouldn't open it quite yet, she thought, and set it on the kitchen counter, walking back to her comfy seat.

Hours passed, and the sun was setting. In that time, while she did finish work for the most part, her curiosity only grew. Shaking it yielded no results, other than the fact _it_ must've been packed tightly. Against better judgement, Kotori opened the medium-sized package.

If anything, she was slightly disappointed at its' contents after throwing the protective mediums away.

In it, she found a mask. The design seemed common to her, being rather plain on both sides. It was a fully white mask, shaped like a bird; it was an oval shaped mask with a short beak mouthpiece. The sole feature that could've been suggested to be unique were the rectangular eye-holes, narrowed to the point that the wearer would have to squint.

With Halloween around the corner, she brushed it off as another joke.

"Ah, shoot!" Kotori cried, realizing she needed something, rushing to grab her phone, car keys and her sketches without cleaning. Dressed in a white dress shirt and black pants combo, she left.

Working at home didn't mean she was improperly dressed during work hours. There was no telling when there would be situations requiring her personal presence would arise, or when she'd have run to save on time. Bless Umi and her forced training for that.

Technically, this wasn't one of those times of emergency, but Kotori wanted to go by her work studio and reinspect the samples before calling her new designs completed.

When she'd entered the car, she realized that the mask was brought accidentally along, but didn't bother with leaving it at home. For giggles, Kotori also thought to bring it in since it was already there, and the studio had mirrors. Not to mention, she had a few fancy dresses lying around. It could be like a private masquerade.

"Should I really be fooling around? I wanted to get some free time for when Umi-chan comes back... But the designs _are_ technically done." she thought out loud. "I'll just see how it looks."

* * *

With work finished and packed neatly, Kotori got her chance.

Standing in front of a full body mirror, Kotori put on the mask.

Without any warning or explanation, Kotori felt drained and fell to her knees. Wondering what was happening to her, she looked up at her reflection.

To her horror, the mask was changing; underneath the mask, she was as well. The white surface was rapidly gaining gray feather patterns while the beak turned yellow; from the sockets, she could see her eyes go red, seeming to glow.

As she stared, thoughts surfaced into her head. They were all murderous.

In the past, she'll admit that she had bad thoughts concerning Umi, but this was beyond that. The most she'd ever wanted was seeing her wife vulnerable, to have Umi ask to depend on her while in tears, but now she started yearning for blood; to see it fly everywhere and listen to screams of agony, it seemed enticing to make it so, abandoning her previous morals.

Without her control, Kotori's body awkwardly made way towards her favorite scissors. Despite her efforts to resist, as time passed she found her resolve weaken. The last straw was when she found herself walking towards the wardrobe.

"I'm losing." Kotori thought bitterly as she neared the door with her keys, now wearing her gray suit and a pair of Umi's black gloves. She had to admit, it was a good choice of wardrobe if these thoughts were to become a terrible reality, except her pants were wrong...

Feeling herself fade further as the door clicked, she almost admitted total defeat.

"No, I have to warn them! I have to warn Umi-chan!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You've no idea the anguish I feel for writing this, just because I couldn't stop thinking about this because of an omake from another FF.


	2. Incident?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some are alerted that something is up.

Umi yawned in her hotel room, preparing to sleep.

As the Sonoda heir and former national competitor, she usually spent time at the dojo or at other such locations. It was somewhat peaceful, excluding the management and marketing.

Now as the anonymous novelist and lyricist, _Love Arrow, _she occasionally had to leave to meet business partners. Maki had told her how lucky she was to not appear in front of events as the main focus. "They're a gathering of freaking annoying and greedy bastards," she'd described once, downing a glass of wine. Umi agreed with her, but more so due to the possibility of public embarrassment. Kotori's events alone felt pressuring enough, receiving glares on her back from an assortment of people. She'd yet to figure out how Kotori managed such jealous stares in their younger school years.

Admittedly, Umi continued a habit of sleeping earlier than her other friends, like a student who had an exam the next morning; it was a healthy habit and the Idiot Trio calling her a, "Huge nerd that needs to chill and let loose at parties", wasn't going to break it anytime soon. It's one reason why she and Kotori don't tend to plan for communication over business trips unless it's an emergency. Of course, being lonely is a emergency for Kotori so they do end up talking a lot, but Umi didn't mind her calling.

Before closing her eyes, her phone buzzed.

"A text from Kotori?" Umi mumbled, looking at the screen.

Kotori rarely texted Umi while she was away. A text usually amounted to a quick reminder between them, or a chat with their friends; more meaningful messages were personally said over a call. Therefore, when Umi saw that it was her, she began to worry. Even more so when the text was almost unreadable. Almost.

"...'Don't find me. Mask.' What does she mean?" Umi asked herself, forgetting all thoughts of sticking to routine, wide awake.

Instead of panicking, Umi was the type to calmly analyze and solve a crisis, though she occasionally lost herself when it came to Kotori's safety. There had been far too many assassinations targeted towards their group of friends, who were all individuals under thirty. It was ridiculous, but she attributed it to their rapidly risen fame.

Her first step was to call for her junior. Personally, she could've done what she needed, except she didn't bring equipment on short trips like these.

Umi sighed in relief as Hanayo picked up.

"Hi Umi-chan, do you need help?"

"Yes, sorry to bother you. I've received a strange text from Kotori. Could you check the cameras in my stead?"

"Oh, it's alright. I've already recharged on rice, so I'll check up on her!"

When designing the cameras, Yukiho, who had decided inventing was her life's passion, she'd installed additional systems. Among them was facial recognition, so there were fewer chances of anyone bypassing the entry alerts aside from the girls. To list some further features, they included pressure and heat sensors, the latter useful for packages.

No one watched these cameras, so Umi had to call Hanayo, who manages their main system, to check. Aside from Arisa, Hanayo, Umi and Yukiho, no one had full access. They ruled things tended to become worse. Umi shook at the thought of the Idiot Trio's, "Movie marathon but we stream it on Yukiho's cool servers without telling her"; it amazed her how something "fool proof" could quickly be "fool broken". For the others, well, it just wasn't their profession to describe their abilities lightly.

"Huh, that's strange. The data from both the home and studio feeds got corrupted," Hanayo spoke nervously, noting the anomaly.

Umi furrowed her brows, "That _is_ strange. Unless one of us did that, it shouldn't be possible. I hope that it's no one from the outside, or we'll have another issue on our hands."

"But it kind of looks like an amateur's work, so maybe it's Kotori-chan? If it's physical, then it's possible." Hanayo suggested.

It didn't clear Umi's confusion. What reason would Kotori have to personally fiddle with the recordings? If she were planning a surprise, she'd also call Hanayo for assistance.

"Umi-chan, what was the text about? Maybe that's a clue."

"Oh, yes, of course. But it's extremely vague. Not only that, it'd taken me a moment to deduce what it said, with how sloppily it was written."

"Um, not to worry you, but Kotori-chan doesn't do that when she texts you, does she? Texting you personally without grammar, I mean."

Umi crossed her legs, "I'm well aware. But her message told me not to find her, and mentioned a mask. We own no such thing, and the ones we used to own were donated. Unless... Hanayo, could you check the footage from this morning, at our home?"

"Oh! Right away!" Umi could hear Hanayo working away, "Ah, I think I found it! A package was delivered this morning, and the data becomes corrupted right before she opened it at home. Again when Kotori-chan was about to grab something from her car at the studio."

"That must be the mask then. When was this?"

"The studio activity was about three hours ago."

"Hm, but I'd received the message not long ago. Hanayo, can you figure out where she is now?"

"The phone says her studio, but the car... The car's GPS is currently disabled, but the last location was also the studio. I don't know how she did it, Kotori-chan's never worked on a car before. And it's Yukiho-chan's custom model too... Only Yukiho-chan and Arisa-chan should be able to do it." She paused and added, "Safely."

"This is troubling. I should return home immediately."

"Wait! You're on a business trip, right? Why don't I ask Rin-chan to take a look while I go and recover the data at your house and Kotori-chan's studio? It'd take forever! Not to mention, you'll be too tired to do anything, I think."

"That's... If it's not too much trouble. You're correct. I'm sorry for dragging you two into this so late into the night, Hanayo. I'll be returning after my last meeting tomorrow to assist you. Thank you."

* * *

With a sigh, Hanayo hung up the phone.

"Are we going out Kayo-chin?" Rin asked, finishing her bowl of ramen.

Hanayo stood and grabbed her laptop. "Yeah..."

Hanayo proceeded to explain the situation to her, finishing as they got in the car.

"Nyat's not good. We better find something, or Umi-chan might kill me."

"Oh Rin-chan, she wouldn't do that. But we should still hurry to Kotori-chan's studio first."


	3. Um, Kayo-chin?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanayo and Rin find concerning clues about Kotori, but Rin stumbles on something unexpected.

Upon arriving at the studio, Hanayo went to the backroom to access the data while Rin searched for clues.

Rin looked left and right, and hadn't found anything out of place.

"Man, this is nyot going too well." Rin said dejectedly by the entrance. Suddenly, her phone began ringing, causing her to drop it. Reaching towards it, she saw something that made her freeze before deciding to pick it up. "H-hey, Maki-chan."

"Hm, is something the matter, Rin? Anyway, I wanted to ask you if your physical can be tomorrow. Rin?"

"I dunno, me and Kayo-chin are, ah... Can you look at this picture right nyow, Maki-chan?"

"Er, sure. I have free time right now anyway." Rin smiled, glad to have a doctor friend to do detective work, and sent Maki the picture. "Rin, where did this blood stain come from? Are you two at _another _crime scene?" Oh yeah, except she was part of "Soldier Game", AKA the "No Fun Squad".

"Nyo, we might have to tell you guys later though. That's if this is really bad-nya."

"Well, I wouldn't call this bad. I'm telling you all, I'm not a professional forensics specialist. But, it looks like someone was stabbed in the leg, maybe? It looks like the weapon was pulled out and did this; definitely not a big deal if someone only bled this much, but should definitely be treated. What's concerning is that it doesn't look _dry _from the the picture, despite the minimal amount. An hour? Seriously, where are you two if this isn't a crime scene?"

"Thanks Maki-chan. Looks like nyou'll see in the group chat."

"Ugh, is this another situation?" Maki sighed, "Okay, tell us the results later, Rin."

Ending the call, Rin looked around and spotted more blood near Kotori's desk. Upon further inspection, she found her phone underneath some strewn papers. Rin hadn't noticed since Kotori could be pretty negligent about her rough drafts after newer sketches were produced during an inspiration spurt.

"Weird." Rin pocketed the phone and went to the bathroom, knowing that's where the first-aid was.

When she opened the door, she gasped. Rin hurried to pick up the pants on the floor, walking around the scattered kit's contents, confirming it to be Kotori's. All of Kotori and Umi's formal clothes were custom made by herself, as well as some for the rest of their group.

As Maki had said, there was a small stab wound on the right side, with quite a bit of blood. "But this is strange. Why is there so much when the stab was small? Nya...", Rin glanced at the medical supplies again, and the rolled out bandages. Rin wouldn't call herself the brightest, but she knew Kotori. "It's nyalmost like Kotori-chan forgot how to bandage herself. And if she texted Umi-chan, she knew where her phone was, right? Why didn't she take it?"

"Rin-chan, come quick! I managed to recover the data and it looks like we'll need Nozomi-chan's help!" Hanayo screamed in the distance.

Dropping the pants, she ran over to where Hanayo was. Arriving, Rin found her packed up and ready to leave.

"Rin-chan, I need to call Nozomi-chan as we drive over to Kotori-chan and Umi-chan's house." Hanayo said in rare seriousness.

Without a word, they quickly made their way out after locking the studio. Rin figured that she could reveal her clues later on.

* * *

"Okay, Nozomi-chan. Mhm, that'd be great! Bye." Hanayo turned to Rin as her discussion with Nozomi ended. Opposed to what someone would think of _Minami Co._'s CEO, her studio was nearly an hour away from her home, so there was plenty of time to talk.

"Sorry for talking so long, Rin-chan. Nozomi-chan said that she'd be there with Eli-chan with some late night takeout, though!"

"It's no problem, Kayo-chin! And by the way- Nya! Isn't that Kotori-chan's car over there?" Rin said, making a hard turn into the deserted parking lot.

True to her words, there was Kotori's silver car. From a distance it was a bit difficult to identify, but it had Yukiho's personal logo in place of another company's.

Her logos had varied over the years, but for their cars, Arisa had accidentally submitted her "joke sketch". Now there was a standing chibi Yukiho driving a car in a tutu on all of them, and it hadn't been changed upon the Ayase sisters' insistence as they laughed, much to Yukiho's annoyance as Honoka joined them. Luckily for her, it wasn't in color, so most were confused and never associated it with her.

Hanayo took a breath, calming her racing heart, and looked around the car. "But I don't see anyone around." In fact, they'd recognize this area to be deserted, one part due to a group Hanayo had helped reduce in the last few years.

"It's strange that Kotori-chan would come here. Nya! Could she be blackmailed by them?!"

"Rin-chan!" Hanayo scolded, "Kotori-chan wouldn't give in to blackmail! Besides, the most they could do is send a s-! A s-s-... All they could do is send a, private, tape."

"Daw~, you can say 'sex tape' Kayo-chin! It'll be really sad if you turned into Umi-chan-nya. And it'll take more than nyat to blackmail Kotori-chan."

"Ah, yes...", Hanayo's eyes darted around again, "Should we put a tracker on the car and leave?"

"You do that, Kayo-chin, and lock the doors. I think nya'll go scout ahead and see if I can find her!" She shushed Hanayo before she could object, "Don't worry, I can just run away if there's trouble!"

Begrudgingly, she let Rin run off, but not before transferring the marked territorial map of the area to her phone.

* * *

Rin navigated through the paths between the older buildings. They weren't in disrepair, just abandoned by common citizen traffic. Since they used to be warehouses, part of a failed storage company that she'd since forgotten the name of, even the homeless didn't intrude as nothing valuable was left. At least there was still lighting; quite bright as opposed to the creepy warehouse setting.

Not a topic Rin was entirely interested in, she shook her head clear and pressed on.

"Maps are so stupid, but Kayo-chin's tracks steps so it's all~ right. Now nyit should be here." Peering into the old building's high side window, supposedly the main hideout, she made out a scene that made her do a double-take in disbelief.

Inside, she saw a horrific sight, one she'd never thought to see in person.


	4. First Sacrifices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mask claims its' first victims, and Rin is there to see the aftermath.

Kotori recognized the area, and began wondering if the Mask had stolen her memories. That, or it knew where the hideouts of the local ruffians were. Somehow.

"Oi, who the hell are you, lady?"

Much to Kotori's dismay, she watched helplessly as she walked up to the guards in her outfit from earlier, new gray dress pants being the exception. Approaching and armed with only her scissors, she began to worry even further.

Didn't the Mask know they had guns?

"Don't she look like the Minami girl? Ain't she a bit early for Trick or Treatin'?" one said, eyeing her.

"Oh, the one with that police what's it? And are ya stupid? Why would a rich lady be doin' that?"

The guard shrugged, "I mean, freebies are pretty nice no matter what age really. Anyway, did you mean Koizumi? Whatever, that's for the others to worry about. So if she ain't her for candy, then what? I don't wanna touch her man, that mask is freaky." In a whisper he added, "And those profile pictures Boss showed us. Her eyes man, they give me the creeps already."

"Hmph," he brushed off his concerns, "it's just a fashion designer. Let's just tie her up since-... Guh!" The guard's smirk faded as he realized the woman had stabbed him in the throat.

The other guard's face fell, watching his comrade die in front of him.

"H-holy shit! A real murder before Halloween!" he screamed, choosing to now grab his pistol. Unfortunately, his fumbling was neither quick nor fruitful. A shout of pain was heard inside as retracted scissors moved to his hand.

* * *

Inside, the men grew antsy, putting their meeting on hold.

They were a small group who'd never offended any other unlawful faction, so invasion was ruled out.

Currently, the remaining ten members sat inside, including the leader, with the two initiates outside; with Hanayo's help, a couple dozen had been fated to prison life and wouldn't be seen for the next few years or more. Despite their decreased numbers, their established territory was decent in terms of security, mostly because the others didn't care about obtaining such a desolate area. Furthermore, many were toughened up by years of experiences, fighting for one thing or another. They knew that torture wasn't foreign to their field.

"Get ready." Their leader commanded, guns aimed at the closed entrance.

However, the unrestrained screams only grew, and torture began to become something to be feared. Listening to screaming was one thing; people can scream for a variety of things, from grief and agony to joy and excitement. But the muffled screams outside the doors were slowly transforming, hoarseness becoming apparent, yet the volume remained consistent.

One man asked, "Shouldn't we, I dunno, shoot now?"

His companion snapped back, "Unless you want to open the doors and die first, there's no way. Only the Boss' gun has any piercing power, enough for the metal door anyway. By the time it goes through, it'll lose its' firepower."

The previous man didn't have long to curse their doors' material, bullets entered from a small side window. The shots downed half of them with precision.

"W-what the hell?! Who can shoot from the window like this!? A sniper?!" Another man shouted, referring to the new head piercings the men on the floor gained.

"Are you stupid, there's no way there would be one here to assassinate _us_ of all people! And that was pistol fire. Haven't you memorized what it sounds like by now?!" Their leader yelled.

"Boss, they'd have to jump up and cling up there, _and _aim with a pistol. There's no way somebody normal can do that!" one exclaimed.

"Oi, the screams outside stopped," someone else pointed out.

They waited in silence before the leader snapped out of it.

"There's enough of us to cover all our sides. I'm going to go out. Alone."

"But that's suicidal! We don't know who they even are! Come on, why don't we hole up in the back?"

"Enough!" Looking towards the other four, who no longer objected, he dashed out the entrance.

Contrary to the belief that he was the type to abandon his men, owning a strong build that ordinary individuals would both envy and fear, he wasn't.

Looking around while preparing to dodge for cover at any hint of hostility, he was surprised to see what was left of the initiates. One seemed untouched aside from his pierced throat, remaining near the door, but the other... The other wasn't present, aside from the large pool of blood.

Seeing a long blood-trail leading away and going around the building's corner, he followed it, armed. Further down the alley, he spotted his other man in a mangled state.

"What crazy son of a bitch did this?" the leader cursed and mumbled to himself, lowering the weapon. He knelt next to it, gathering clues as to what had happened.

With a single glance, he could see what caused the man to scream so loudly.

The limbs were twisted and bent at odd angles, no doubt making it impossible to move in haste; without inflicting pain upon him at every slight movement, that is. This was followed by a dissection, his torso carefully flayed wide-open. Based on the cuts, he deduced the "knife" was something else entirely. Further leaning over and glancing inside, the leader could see that his internal organs had been cut up here and there as well, inflicting further agony. What made it disgustingly neat was the way the carnage was still contained "within" his body despite being moved.

It surprised him how anyone could've remained conscious under these conditions, and he slightly admired the willpower the dead man had in his last moments.

Taking in the sight hadn't made him feel alarmingly ill, but it was very near so. He'd seen similar scenes in his old life, filled with gore and a breath of death, but what he saw next made him nauseous.

The final atrocity was the man's removed heart, an act no ordinary person would commit.

Cold sweat began forming as he realized the body was a trap, remembering an important detail: it was moved.

Sounds of clacking footsteps finally pulled his eyes away as he jumped and turned towards the sound with gun drawn.

He was shocked to see _the_ Minami Kotori walking towards him with scissors, probably from her sewing profession he figured, gleaming and dripping blood. Unlike the earlier men, he knew a former national champion was her wife, so there was no telling what the woman could do to him too.

Eyeing her, he saw neither of the guns from his guards, which he assumed she'd used earlier. Looking over her pristine and slim figure, there was also no bulk to indicate another weapon. On the other hand, likely as she was alone, the possibility of a partner sneaking up on them wasn't off the list.

"What do you want from us?" he asked, not understanding two things about the entire ordeal.

One was the purpose of their attacker. Sure, they gave her friend and the police some trouble in the past, but there were much worse factions after Koizumi now. In the first place, while she was a thorn in their side, he never planned against her. In fact, they were all thinking to keep their crimes on the low end, striking when the _real _groups caused a commotion and diverted attention.

The newer question was less relevant, but irked his attention. He tried to think why the woman was wearing a mask when her hair gave her away, even if it was almost Halloween. Staring at it, the mask seemed mystical in the worst sense, as if it were a cursed item of sorts. Glowing red eye-sockets staring out at him didn't help calm his racing heart. However, he concluded it was some sort of cheap effect; there was no way things like that actually existed, right?

At his inquiry, Kotori had yet to respond. Without waiting for one either, he quickly shot at her chest. As long as she was hit, he figured, it'd be an advantage. There was no way he'd let her off after this massacre.

Instead of hitting her, she'd side stepped and threw the scissors with strength and frightening accuracy that he'd never anticipated. As expected, the wife of the nationalist was amazing. Too amazing.

Before he knew it, his gun had been kicked away somewhere and he himself was kicked onto his back. With the back of his skull ringing from the fall, his dazed self panicked.

"Boss! Where are ya?!"

"Over there!"

He heard his men run around the corner and willed himself to sit up as they approached.

"Boss! You're alright! Who did this?"

Looking around, he didn't see his gun or her scissors, nor her for that matter. Wait...

"You fools! Get back inside, our attacker has my gun!"

"What do ya mean, Boss? Come on, let's get ya up." With a hoist, he was pulled on his feet.

Dusting himself off, he repeated himself with urgency, "I'm serious here, we-!"

A shot was heard, and everyone turned around to find one of them with a bullet through their head. Unlike the rest, he hadn't fully rounded the corner.

The leader cursed and grabbed the fresh body as a meat shield. Ignoring the questions, he told them his plan. For the final time, he looked back at them as he prepared to run, "We're rushing back into the backroom dammit! No matter what, tell them that the one who did this was-."

Without warning, he too fell. A pair of scissors embedded into his head was responsible for his death.

The remaining three men had frozen up, not believing in what was happening. Their eyes widened further, nearly popping out of their sockets, as they themselves saw the feared attacker who'd unfortunately targeted them all that night.

* * *

Rin could still not believe the sight.

There was no doubt the person inside was Kotori, but Rin had never seen her touch a dead body before. Now, there were twelve of them cut open around her.

Shakily, Rin held up her phone and began recording what seemed to be the last of whatever this was. Thank goodness for high-quality cameras.

Through the zoom function, Rin watched as Kotori tilted her head back with an extracted heart above her. The strange mask's beak opened, and it was dropped in. Instead of witnessing the heart bounce off, because there was no way Kotori's mouth was that big, she saw the heart magically turn into red streams which were sucked inside.

After that event, Rin jumped as Kotori's head whipped around and stared at her, the piercing red gaze startling her. Without delay, Rin dropped back down and began running with the sound of a gunshot fresh on her mind.


	5. With These Clues, We Only Became More Confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eli, Hanayo, Nozomi and Rin have figured out the Mask is the problem. Now what?

Hanayo squeaked in surprise as Rin hastily got in the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Rin-chan did you find something?" Hanayo asked worriedly after Rin continued remaining silent, covered in a cold sweat. Looking at Rin's phone, she then asked, "What were you recording?"

Rin gulped, "I-I'll show you when we get there. Okay, Kayo-chin?"

Still worried, Hanayo began mentally preparing herself for a longer night than she anticipated. From what she knew, the clues were leading them to something far bigger than what she'd thought.

Far bigger than what she imagined an inquiry from Umi would result in.

* * *

"Hanayo-chan, Rin-chan, welcome. We brought the food, so why don't you eat first?" Nozomi greeted with a calm smile, and gestured to the dining table.

"Nya~, I think we're gonna need it," Rin said, grabbing a bowl of ramen.

"Is it anything serious?" Eli asked, walking into the room.

Hanayo opened her laptop, showing the studio's security footage. Similarly, Rin showed what she witnessed earlier. Both videos showed the mask stuck to Kotori. Afterwards, they gave their seniors a testimony of events and clues.

A heavy silence settled over the four, Nozomi in deep thought.

"This is a problem," she finally said.

"We already know that-nya," Rin said, deadpanned, sucking up her noodles.

"Nozomi, aren't there any legends? Surely there must be one," Eli asked.

Nozomi hummed, "Perhaps, Elichi, but I've yet to hear it. Only the popular ones become widespread, even the local tales must be popular in their own small community. In this case, the story we'd need might be passed down by an old family, or might've been lost to time already."

"Er, what about the package from this morning? Did you find it?" Hanayo asked, steering the conversation.

"Yes, but the address was local as well, and led to nothing. It turns out the sender was marked as someone who'd passed away recently."

"Maybe I can find more about them, Eli-chan?"

"Are you sure, Hanayo? Since you haven't gone through the house's footage, we don't know if this is the right one."

"Mhm! I can recover it, and we'll see that it's right! Although, it is odd that it wasn't removed...", Hanayo trailed off.

"You do have a point." Eli sighed after a moment of thought, "Here's what we'll do. Hanayo, sort through the data for the time being. Rin, watch over Hanayo and monitor the tracker on Kotori's car. Nozomi, we'll piece together what we have. It's best that we always stick together, in-case Rin aggravated that mask."

"""Okay~."""

* * *

As soon as Rin and Hanayo left, the remaining two watched the two videos they had.

"...That sounds about right." Nozomi had retrieved Umi's whiteboard, usually used when Umi wanted to share an idea with emphasis. With their investigation underway, a web of events was drawn out.

Looking over it, Eli repeated what they knew, "At the studio, Kotori brings the mask inside and puts it on after looking at something for work. After that, she crumbles to the floor and it begins to transform, with Kotori somewhat conscious. Thereafter the transformation, Kotori's control diminishes. The Mask puts minimum effort in a disguise after seizing control and heads towards the door, but Kotori temporarily regains control to warn Umi by stabbing herself in the leg. After dropping her phone, the Mask moves to sloppily bandage her leg and change again. Going outside, the Mask proceeds to disable the car's tracking manually before driving away."

"From this video, we've concluded two things~: Kotori-chan's body is still human and the Mask is intelligent enough to do these things."

Eli drummed her fingers, "From the video Rin captured, we know that the Mask is 'absorbing' hearts for something, and it's not afraid to kill for it either. Are we missing something from this?"

"I reckon it'd be easier without the blood spatter everywhere," Nozomi remarked.

Eli stared at the video as it looped again, until, "Harasho, there it is!" Nozomi blinked at Eli's outburst while Eli herself got closer to the screen. She suddenly turned to her wife, "Nozomi, you're a lucky genius." Nozomi was startled by the sudden compliment, but quickly recovered. "Eh~, only lucky?" she teasingly asked, raising a brow, "It sounds like you've made a major breakthrough in the case, detective~."

"Oh quiet you. Look!" Nozomi squinted at the bloodied corpses, "Their bullet holes, Elichi?"

"Yes! I think if we sent Maki to get their reports, she'd find that most of them have a single bullet to the head. Now, look at what happened before Rin ended the recording."

Nozomi watched as the camera pulled away as Rin jumped down, showing a bullet hitting just above the window. "I see. Kotori-chan resisted and made it miss, so Rin-chan wouldn't have been in danger. Nice one, Elichi~."

Eli smiled as she continued with her deduction, "Not only that, this tells us Kotori is still conscious to some degree. Let's assume she's in a state of limbo as the Mask moves around, and she's only motivated to resist if she sees someone important."

"Ah, so we'll need Umi-chan to come back?"

Eli went back to a serious expression, "Exactly. However, we've yet to know what the mask _is,_ how to remove it, or if it'll be safe for Kotori's mental state to separate them anymore. Without knowing that, our efforts to capture her will be fruitless. Are you absolutely sure there are no legends about this, Nozomi?"

Nozomi tapped her chin again, thinking out loud, "There are various myths involving possession. For inanimate objects like masks though, that usually involves an evil power left behind from an evil person."

Eli's brave persona faded at the mention of the entities lurking in the dark, "L-like, a ghost of a serial killer from the past, or a plague doctor from centuries ago?!"

"Geez, you're only getting scared now~? And about the ghosts, Elichi, not quite. Because the mask changed _after_ Kotori-chan put it on, it may be closer to a malicious power that's changing her subconscious to kill people. If you recall, she had a little bit of that side to her."

"Right, the diaries. I'm still amazed how nonchalant Honoka was about it, and how Umi accepted that edited draft trick you pulled."

"Honoka-chan can be insightful when we least expect it, and she probably noticed beforehand. Don't ya remember how much she yelled at them for being oblivious when Kotori-chan came back from overseas? As for that draft, it was all Honoka-chan too."

"Wait, what? Why haven't I heard this before, Nozomi?! Hah~, I guess it doesn't matter anymore but that's surprising. Now back to the theory session. Say the mask is filled with this, evil power, that's slowly corrupting Kotori. What's your idea? I have a plan to capture her, if we can find her again, but afterwards..."

"With this talk of evil power, I think I have an idea! I could force the mask's power into Kotori-chan herself."

"Wha- Nozomi! This is no time to joke."

"I'm not Elichi. On short notice, and without any leads, this is the only solution. Look, we know that the mask is changing Kotori-chan, right~? Who's to say it's not effectively changing her down to her very soul? If that's the case, it's better to let her absorb it in a controlled manner with my spiritual talismans!"

"I don't know, Nozomi. Isn't there a way to purify it first? Any holy powered friends?"

"Nope. And in the first place, I don't know how powerful its' aura is. There's also a possibility it's immune to our ways of purification."

Eli groaned, "It's better than nothing. I just hope it works, or Umi's going to use us as a sacrifice."


	6. Put in Charge, Got a Clue, Accidentally Found You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group of four split to do their parts, then Nico joins the fray on her day off.

Unfortunately, Hanayo's search for the deceased's life story yielded no leads, and Nozomi's proposal remained their best course of action.

She fidgeted as Nozomi drew her talismans in the shrine, sitting across from her and contemplating how she'd do her part.

Hanayo's new task was to join the police and hopefully follow Kotori's trail with them in tow. There was no doubt the Mask wasn't stopping its' killing spree.

Trusted by the police force as she was, murder cases were a delicate matter that she often didn't get involved with. Serial killer cases even more so. Understandingly, the feeling was mutual. Not because she was incompetent, no, it was because she was _too _good. If a murderer learnt that Koizumi Hanayo was assisting the police with their case, there would be a high chance she'd be the next victim.

As she was about to cry in frustration, her phone buzzed. Seeing the caller, she opted for the privacy the room provided instead of talking in the open outdoor shrine grounds.

"Ah Koizumi, glad you picked up!" a man greeted.

"Oh, h-hello Chief. Is there a case you all need help with?"

The Chief was a kind man to everyone, but criminals. This kindness was differentiated from trust; he was the type who judged someone by their actions.

That is how he came to trust Hanayo, by extension team μ's, after an incident where Maki had been kidnapped. Afterwards, he became aware that the honest reporter was not as simple as she seemed, amazing at information gathering of all sorts.

When he tried recruiting her as an official officer, she declined, but they agreed to a paid investigator relationship in times of need. She was always free to drop a case and still receive pay, but she tended not to unless it became too dangerous, which were few in number. These days, after quitting her job at a popular paper and going solo with her avid readers' support, she tends to do them more often.

"I know you hate these types, but we really need you on this one. Heck, you can even be in-charge! It'll probably turn into a serial killer case soon and the media will probably blow up about it too. Up to you to decide as always, though."

"Er, can I hear the MO first?"

As Hanayo had thought, it was about the massacre from last night. While she found it odd that they'd found them so quickly, she was glad to accept the case. Although as she ended the call, the hardest question popped into her head:

How on Earth were they going to bail Kotori out of this?

* * *

"Nyaaa... Eli-chan, I can't read anymore~," Rin said, slumped over at the library. The librarian would've shushed her, but it was literally the three of them in the entire building and they'd gone to the staff room.

"Keep reading, Rin. If Umi returns tonight and discovers how much you're slacking..."

"I know, nya, but there's sooo many old books just about _masks_. We've been at it for hours, and I'm getting hungry. Can't we call the others nyow?"

Eli shook her head. "It'd be best during the evening, when this won't distract them as much, especially Maki. The last thing she needs is to explode about magical affairs again while operating a hospital."

"I guess." Rin sighed. Knowing Rin, Eli handed her simpler looking texts, some of which included drawings.

Flipping through a new book, Rin perked in her seat as one caught her eye. "Wow, this story is so cool." Hearing Rin's mumble, Eli inquired what was so interesting. "Well, it's a story about 'the Slaughters' Masks'. Uhhh... They were made to control an army of savage killers for war, and none of them matched! And it looks like this guy was forced to wear one, and then joins the army like a robot. Then he swears to use his mask to get stronger, while his wife seeks a way to remove it-nya."

"Mind if I see that book? I think this is it." Excitedly, Rin shoved the book into her hands. Finding a fact page, Eli read, "'The mask wearer is ultimately controlled by the single one worn by the Emperor (see left), donning a design intended to frighten others and resembles an oni. It has since been destroyed by request of the rightful owners by priests so pictures are all that remain. There are various tales about it and the rest of these masks, but historians have discovered there may have indeed been such a squad of soldiers to accompany it. Uniquely designed masks had been dug up with bodies in a mass grave alongside weapons, oddly intact, though their designs were faded (see right)."

Both women glared down at the indicated picture and gasped. There were many simple animal depictions, similar to Kotori's. With the fading color, a white base material became revealed. Eli could tell how intricate their designs originally were. Considering the possibilities, it very well could've been painted using lost methods, but it also made little sense as to why soldiers would wear such things obstructing their vision. Accepting a "spiritual explanation", as Nozomi would say, the designs were unique because of _who_ wore them.

It matched.

"Rin, let's check out."

* * *

Nico walked down the street in disguise and visited some stores; hair down, eye color contacts and the tucked in long strand of hair did wonders. It was one of those rare days off from her own idol activities and Maki was busy at the hospital.

Seeing it was noon, she sought a place to eat. A fancy restaurant was too lonely, so she set off to a family diner, bringing her car with her. It may not have looked too pretty, but the food was decent and the place always had a seat open.

Once food arrived, Nico absentmindedly chewed and imagined what the next incident Maki hinted at could be. Honoka and A-rise would be out of town, Arisa and Yukiho had gone into seclusion, and Umi came back tonight, so it'd be the eight of them she figured.

Paying the bill and stepping out, an obvious mugger ran past her and she noted the middle-aged woman catching her breath behind him. She internally scrutinized his poor outfit choice before giving chase.

"Just my luck to be heroic," Nico growled, turning into an alleyway. Both zigzagged through the maze, Nico grateful to her past self for the casual clothes today as she jumped over another knocked over trashcan. Before she knew it, the guy slowed down enough to where she could tackle him after running longer than her, but someone else beat her to it with a stab from the side.

Nico processed the sight before her as she froze at the sight of blood, too much blood, the thrown purse at her feet gone forgotten.

She silently stood as he was mutilated in front of her, the man looking up at the two pleading with his eyes, as none other than Kotori stabbed the daylights out of him; savagely, yet the vital organs seemed to have been avoided.

Unsure what to do, Nico took a step backwards from the unfolding scene. Unfortunately, this only brought attention onto herself.

"Oh hey... Kotori-chan. What's up?" Nico made eye contact with her, and they awkwardly stared at each other. "... Nice mask?"


	7. Since the First Sacrifices: Kotori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of what Kotori has thought after the gang's murder and Nico's appearance.

Kotori internally whimpered, thinking of the previous night's events as she "rested" in her car, slumped in the driver's seat. Thankfully, the Mask could clean blood very well.

As predicted, the Mask went on a rampage on those poor men. The motions and sensations, she felt how the Mask made her commit murder, how it felt to enjoy the spoils afterwards. Worse, every stab and kill transmitted a wave of pleasure into her mind; the consumption of hearts, or as her mind told her, spiritual power, sparked a desire to hunt more victims to feed on.

It was terrifying to even recall her own thoughts during the ordeal. One moment she was resigned to her fate, which Umi would surely berate her on, and the next she was enjoying the bloody spectacle. Even now, _this _reflection made her feel a dull buzz.

Were it not for Rin's timely appearance by the window, she worried that her mind would've completely been overwhelmed. But with the memory of a gun aimed at Rin, she also worried what would happen if she encountered her friends in the near future. Knowing how their group operates, there was no doubt they were trailing her.

Kotori quickly pushed those thoughts away, fearing the Mask would begin planning around them with such memories. Instead, she thought of countermeasures, what she could do on her side.

Her first decision, as regretful as it were, was to allow the Mask to kill strangers as it pleased. There was no point in wasting her will power for them when her friends' survival was uncertain. It'll be painful to remind herself of this.

Second, she'd have to prepare her mind for the shock, no matter how pleasurable. Of the many mental exercises she could practice, she only learned one. Not to her tastes, Kotori didn't routinely do any meditation like Umi, only doing so under heavy stress instead. Hopefully, her knowledge would be enough to coax herself enough to enter a calm state of mind.

Lastly, she needed to discover what that Mask wanted from her, Minami Kotori. What it is doing, essentially.

Yes, it's reliance on a stable source of human livestock was clear. Those mysterious red streams floating across her eyesight were the obvious goal, its' desire. Unfortunately, a small portion of her began to desire it as well, even if she didn't know what _it _was.

She was jolted out of thought as she felt her fingers grab for her keys, turning the car on. Did it want to continue its' hunt? Looking up at the sunrise, she'd hoped the Mask would've laid low, no doubt the previous victims would attract unwanted attention.

* * *

Alleyways _were_ dark, but there was still plenty of light from the sun, Kotori thought. At least no one from the crowded streets could see her this far in.

Much to her relief, no one was taking a shortcut in that particular area either as she wandered to who knows where. For hours. However, the sound of rapid footsteps quickly dampened the mood as noon time rolled around.

God, it was hot in her suit.

Kotori felt herself ready to pounce with scissors drawn as the footsteps came closer, despite how uncomfortable it was. As expected of the Mask, it perfectly timed the strike, and Kotori internally grimaced at the rapid stabs landing on the man.

Unexpectedly, there was another person, who moved in the corner of her eye. Seeing them, her mind raced.

How could she forget what one of her closest friends looked like in the disguise she'd organized?

"Oh hey... Kotori-chan. What's up?" Kotori's heart pounded as she felt her hand subtlety twitch, "... Nice mask?"

Her mind raced, muttering to save Nico like a mantra, even if the other girl was disturbed. It seemed to aggravate the Mask instead of helping, however. It felt as though her mind could crumble as more bloodlust flowed into her, and she let out a weak groan, slumping over.

"Hey, are you okay? What's going on? Kotori-chan?" Nico asked in concern, touching a shoulder and sparking her body to move. At the last moment, Kotori twirled her scissors around, avoiding what could've been a fatal blow to the petite girl, roughly knocking her back to the alley floor.

Looking at Nico's vulnerable state, Kotori closed her eyes with a last plead.

She heard a squelching sound and her hands felt wet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it seems like the chapters are oddly short, they are. At first I was going to release this as one long block of text, but I would've been slightly annoyed at that mess.
> 
> Yay to chapters!
> 
> Also, Rin's B-day.


	8. Nico's Misfortune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico lays in the alleyway as everyone rushes over, with a plan to capture Kotori.

Something was wrong. Blood wasn't runny, nor was it supposed to smell... fruity.

Hesitantly, Kotori opened her eyes to meet a stunned Nico's.

Simultaneously, they both looked down at the bag that Nico's shaking hands held in front of her, oozing a liquid. Kotori didn't recall Nico owning such an ugly handbag, but then remembered the man behind her had held it. "Gross! Who the hell puts a pear in their bag?!" Nico exclaimed, scowling, recognizing the scent. Now that she'd said it, Kotori agreed with her outburst.

Occupied with additional thoughts, Nico's dumb luck being one, Kotori didn't notice herself stiffly rise and return to mutilating the corpse. But Nico did, and sweat dropped, "Is she embarrassed or something?"

Nico's phone buzzed and her slightly trembling hand reached for the device, throwing the bag away, as unpleasant background noises entered her ears. It'd fallen out of her pocket as she was knocked down, but it didn't look damaged, aside from the alleyway filth stuck onto it. Unlocking it, she scowled at the group chat, furiously typing her responses.

**Number 1 Idol: **U tell me this now?! Kotori just kicked my freaking ass! Srsly a damn cursed mask???

**Number 1 Idol: **Also mayb held hostage 2

**Rice Lover: **Nico-chan, are you okay?!

**Number 1 Idol: **Yeah yeah im fine. Shes just stabbing this robber in front of me

**Umi S:** That is not something that should be typed nonchalantly, Nico! Where is Kotori?!

**Number 1 Idol: **THX 4 UR CONCERN UMI

**Number 1 Idol: **N i dunno, chased the guy. Gps is on tho

**Elichika: **Hanayo, can you track her?

**Rice** **Lover: **Yes, I've already sent her location to everyone's phones.

**DrMakki:** I'm coming along too! And dammit Nico-chan, don't get hurt, or I'll kill you myself!

**Number 1 Idol: **Calm down Maki-chan, a little scratch won't hurt the great Nico-nii~

**Number 1 Idol: **Gotta go now, shes cutting at the heart?

Nico let out a shaky sigh, looking up from her phone to said gory sight. Kotori could surprisingly carve bodies well. With scissors. They weren't even designed for butchering... But considering their resources and Kotori's precision, who knew how sharp they were.

They needed a long talk at their next Married to Dense Wives Club meeting.

**NozoSpiritual: **Take a video of it Nicocchi! Need to know what it looks like up close!

She rolled her eyes, and switched her phone to record. Course, only the people in their little group would say that. "Oh sure Nicocchi, stay there in the open _and _record on-top of it while we take our sweet ass time to come rescue you," Nico grumbled.

* * *

"Sonoda-san," one of the businessmen shook her hand, "we'll continue to support you and your future books. Why don't you think about coming to our convention this year for some more PR?"

Umi let go and politely smiled, something Kotori had taught her, "Thank you, but I must refuse once again. I'm afraid it would bring too much stress upon myself if my identity were to be exposed; it is not worth the risk. I've already experienced it once in my life."

"Of course. We understand. Go see the secretary about our next meeting."

"Yes, I will-", "Excuse me, Sonoda-san?", "-do that after I've said my farewells to everyone."

Obligatory farewells and the idle conversations before them were usually no problem for Umi, who had learned to auto-pilot through dialog that didn't interest her, but Kotori's situation was a pressing matter that wouldn't disappear. Though eventually, it did end after an agonizingly long time, even though the clock said it'd been quicker than the previous instances.

Practically bursting out of the building after the all business had been concluded, Umi ran to the parking garage. Gracefully.

She desired nothing more than to immediately speed off to Kotori's rescue as she entered her car, but she wasn't planning to break any laws. Yet. There was no point to if she'd be arrested, or worse.

However, she also worried for Nico's well-being while Kotori wasn't herself. Even if it seemed she'd neglected her for Kotori, Nico was still an important friend. Ultimately, Umi had to put her faith in Kotori's will power to care for their friends, and that the others would reach them soon. Before anyone else took evidence.

Tapping the steering-wheel, she hoped to receive good news as she began the long drive home.

* * *

If Kotori had her body back, she was certain she'd be a trembling mess. Unexpectedly, being recorded in this situation made her nervous.

Damn it Nico.

They were going to have a long talk at their next Married to Dense Wives Club meeting, Kotori thought. No doubt this was due to Nozomi's persuasion; Nico was usually a responsible woman in dire times.

Speaking of Nico, whom she could hear lightly breathe for a reason she has yet to deduce, she hadn't made any move to escape. As if curious itself, Kotori felt her head turning and saw Nico had closed her eyes of all things, holding her phone.

Her own hands twirled the scissors in her grasp, but ultimately went back to stabbing the man's corpse, which in itself was odd. Even to her, Nico was vulnerable. Despite how the shorter girl could be ferocious, Kotori was sure she'd win in a match against her. Umi had taught her well.

Kotori slightly shivered as Umi's intense gaze resurfaced from her memories. While Honoka, Hanayo, and a majority of others would choose the nearest escape route upon seeing it, it was simply dreamy to her. Besides those eyes, Umi also showed joy in teaching. Glistening so innocently, unprepared for- "Not to burst your bubble, but your nose is bleeding," Nico flatly stated, pointing to the blood clearly leaking from underneath the mask.

Why wasn't the Mask targeting Nico? Kotori wondered that, as she felt the blood disappear from her skin.

Similarly, Nico was thinking that too, but also...

"... Hey, where _did_ the blood go?"

* * *

"Rin-chan! Slow down!" Hanayo cried, grasping the car seat and her laptop tightly as Rin cut another person off on the busy streets, earning quite a few angry honks. She had the misfortune of sitting in the passenger seat, the first to spectate their possibly impending doom.

Rin reassured her with a wide grin, "It's okay, nya, because Kayo-chin is nyamazing at hacking tickets away!" At this, Hanayo could only whimper out, "I can't fix car accidents, somebody save us!"

"Now, now, Hanayo-chan, we do need to hurry up and reach those two," Nozomi said from the backseat. "Nozomi is right," Eli agreed, grasping her own seat with an iron grip, "While we do need a talk about your driving, Rin, we can worry about that later. For now, Hanayo, has Nico moved?"

Hanayo chanced a glace at her device as Rin was forced to stop in traffic. "No, but it is worrying how still she is. Although, I guess it would be terrifying to move if I were in her place."

Eli nodded, more so to herself, "Alright then, so it looks like we're going with Plan A. Everyone remember what they're doing?" Rin turned around, "Nyope. I was busy driving."

Eli let out an exasperated sigh. At least they were in a calm patch on the road. "Listen carefully, Rin." The woman silently saluted, Nozomi nodding in approval. "You'll be dropping off Nozomi, and then me, at the places Hanayo tells you to. Then you'll be leaving the car to Hanayo at a third location, while she drives to a fourth location to block the alleyway that's most likely an escape route."

Rin tilted her head, moving the car forward as they were honked at. "Why are we getting out?"

"Private Rin!" Nozomi called to attention. "Yes, Captain!?" Rin asked. "In what kind of situations do soldiers surround a target location, Private?!" Rin thought hard. "Oh! An enemy... en-encirclement?" Nozomi beamed, "Correct! Do you understand the plan now?"

Rapidly, Rin nodded. "We'll surround Kotori-chan and try to tie her up! If thyat doesn't work, we'll make her run towards... Kayo-chin will catch her?" Rin trailed off, confused. "Don't worry, Rin-chan. Leave it to me." Hanayo had an inkling to what concerned her, that being how someone like her could go toe-to-toe with someone. Fighting Kotori was no joke.

Rin did seem to be worried because of that, but decided to trust her love, even though she wondered how Hanayo could catch Kotori by herself. Coincidentally, the road had cleared enough for some more risky driving maneuvers.

Not delving further into details, Rin resumed their nauseating and terrifying car ride.

* * *

The stabbing became repetitive, and Nico was bored out of her mind. She shouldn't have thought that, there being a dead body and all, but boring was boring.

Ever since earlier, Nico had interestingly found the Mask could whisk away blood from Kotori's clothes. Now _that,_ was cool. Imagine that stain-begone magic! But as dead bodies do, they eventually ran out of flowing blood after bleeding out for too long.

So that was over, and finally, the expected event was happening.

Reaching inside, Kotori grasped the sole organ that hadn't been cut into bits. Nico's eyes glued to the heart, after making sure she was still recording, until it began to mystically dissolve into red streams. "It kinda looks like glowing spaghetti," Nico idly thought.

"Hold on." Nico broke into a cold sweat, and asked herself, "If the Mask is done with the body... What's going to happen to Nico-nii?" She could hear the tremble in her own inner voice.

Slowly, Kotori's body turned towards her, standing over the corpse. The bloody red in the eye sockets were not more inviting, at all.

Nico took a calming deep breath, and exhaled slowly. She cursed Nozomi's name for making her the camerawoman as she reopened her eyes.

_"Shit."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter? Yes.  
An ending soon? Hopefully.  
Inspiration, show yourself please!


	9. Ha... Idiots: Saved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, they could take a break from running, but their work wasn't finished.

Nico dodged for the nth time in the row, miraculously unscathed. The prey of a murderer would commonly be happy, elated even, to be alive after avoiding another brush against an instrument of death. In contrast to that belief, Nico's mind was having an existential crisis as she mindlessly dodged, coupled with a haunted look.

"Nico-chan's face is kind of scary right now," Kotori thought, observing how the petite woman fared. "She must be concentrating super hard! Do your best, Nico-chan! I wonder what's wrong though... I think Umi-chan said something about, 'look into your opponent's eyes to predict their movement!' Oh... Maybe that was from one of Umi-chan's cheap warring states-romance movies, instead...? Is that why Nico-chan's eyes aren't moving? It has to be, right~, Kotori-chan~?" Kotori internally chuckled, then mentally slapped herself. "Oh my god, I'm talking to myself again. Bad Kotori, bad...!"

Meanwhile, Nico remembered her long suppressed dilemma, a contrast to Kotori's imaginative speculation. "What the hell. It hasn't even grazed me. Is it because I'm short, small? I haven't grown one damn bit. Maki-chan grew up, and got blessed with better curves than she had in high school. Hell, even Rin had her breast grow a bit to Umi's old size, back when Umi was one of us flatties. What about me? Will I forever be a 'legal loli' type? Yeah, there's no way I can have a growth spurt now. ... Does Maki-chan see me as a child? No, no, no. Maki-chan wouldn't have sex with one, would she? Besides it being illegal and all... But I remember how back then Maki-chan said she wouldn't invest in any research towards a growth pill for me. Could she be... after all?!" Such wild thoughts were spiraling out of control, causing Nico to fail at noticing a new arrival.

Nozomi stepped forward, until she reached the boundary of the small area where the alleyways met. "Nicocchi sure is doing well, hm~? Although, her face is a little bit strange." Nozomi goggled at the two women running circles around the heavily mutilated corpse with a perplexed expression, thinking to herself. "They're really moving 'round. Well, I should probably start my end." God was looking out for her, she thought, as the Mask ignored her despite her standing out.

Like this, she carefully observed how the women ran about some more. She couldn't stay there forever though, even if the other two would be there to assist soon. One swift motion of her arm sent Kotori's body sprawling onto the filthy ground, decisively ending the chase. Nozomi's choice item being her very own spiritual talismans, which were made to inflict a paralyzing force on evil beings with a mere touch. She mentally celebrated that they worked on the particular item.

In response to witnessing the sudden and violent reaction, Nico snapped out of her crisis-induced daze. "Oh," she mumbled, glancing at her savior. Nozomi smirked, "Is that all you have to say, Nicocchi~? Ya should thank me!" Nico waved her off, "Yeah, no thanks, because she's already standing up again." Nozomi followed Nico's gaze and nervously chuckled.

Unevenly rising, the Mask gave off a wave of killing intent as its' piercing gaze fell over her. "Ah... I guess they weren't the right type of talismans," Nozomi commented, already turning to run.

* * *

"I want a drink after this," Kotori thought, inner voice whining, wondering if everything would be alright.

At first, she was worried when Nico was suddenly targeted, but then she noticed Nico was effortlessly dodging the Mask at its' inhumane speeds without a hint of tiring. Initially there was a genuine concern, but after carefully observing Nico's features further, she was undoubtedly zoning out about something other than the whizzing scissors above her head.

Knowing that the others were probably coming, Kotori decided to conserve her willpower for someone who needed it. And did she need it, because a familiar shade of purple arrived.

Willing the Mask to avoid Nozomi, who didn't even _try_ to stay hidden as her body chased Nico around, Kotori hoped her senior had a plan. Nozomi always seemed to know everything, especially about spiritual stuff. Alas, Nozomi also grew up in a modern age, and the talisman she threw at the Mask only felt like a strong sting. Though the charm did inflict some pain, it only felt like a strong taser; it immobilized her, but it didn't guarantee the absolute knockout they needed. Against a being relying on a sort of magical killing intent, temporary immobilization wasn't that great.

She heard the two exchange a short friendly banter, Nico then pointing out she'd gotten up. Kotori could see the nervousness of Nozomi's expression. It was similar to whenever Umi had discovered she was behind a prank gone wrong, which was just the outcome of embarrassing Umi, and was about to feel the painful wrath delivered upon her. That's how Kotori came to precariously exerting her will as the Mask aimed for the duo, causing an occasional stumble here and there. Suddenly, she felt her hands fumble, the scissors clattering on the floor as the other two paused. "What the-?" The hiccup wasn't due to some mishap with the Mask's control over her, she noted, seeing how there was a rope binding her arms to her torso.

Behind her, she saw the person who'd thrown it. It was none other than Eli. "Don't worry, Nozomi!" Eli sent a follow-up wink and sexy smile to her, "I have arrived!" Unexpectedly, it didn't seem she'd be praised, confusing the quarter-Russian. "Elichi? Since when could you lasso?" Nozomi asked.

"Isn't this... a bit strange for Eli-chan?" Kotori thought, watching the blonde sputter as she tried to explain herself. "... Hold on, if Nozomi-chan didn't know Eli-chan can lasso," the constricting ropes loosened as her body squirmed, "then it probably means Eli-chan... can't lasso." As she guessed, Eli's amateur work did not manage to hold her body down. The thick rope fell to the ground with a thud, the sound giving her seniors an indication that the aggravated assailant was coming in for round three. However, there was another interruption before the blonde could even move.

There was little warning before a black object flew towards her, accompanied by a war cry of sorts from their cat-like friend, "Rin is here to fight! Nyaaa!" Kotori cringed as a bag of trash came into contact with her face. A second one soon followed, and Kotori cringed further as it was swiftly cut open in midair with her scissors. To her displeasure she discovered that it must've came from a restaurant, an assortment of sailing wet and discarded food hailing on her. "Now make a break for it-nya!" she heard Rin yell at the others, while the Mask hunched over and shook in a hopeless attempt to- It appeared that the magical stain-removing powers didn't apply solely to blood.

* * *

Soon the Mask came into view of the four who had bolted down an alleyway to meet Hanayo. Rin, screamed when she saw it.

"Holy crap she's fast!" Nico yelled in between tired pants, herself chancing a glance back. "We gotta slow her down or we'll die!" Nozomi agreed with her. "Rin-chan, do you have something to slow her down?"

To the side, Eli looked slightly insulted she wasn't asked first while Rin gave an affirmative. Triumphantly, Rin presented her item, "I got my panic ramen bowl!" Nico's eyes narrowed, "What the hell is a 'panic ramen bowl'?! No wait, better question: where the hell did you pull that from?" Before Rin could call Nico out for her lack of enthusiasm, Eli angrily reproached her. "Rin, why did you bring a bowl at a time like this?!" she questioned, pulled down by Nozomi as a stray brick whizzed by. "Because I nyeed it for ramen!" Rin replied in an equally loud tone, and then threw said bowl at Kotori.

The others who watched, winced. They'd been dead regardless of escape had it been glass and shattered; Umi would've killed them herself, but it was thankfully plastic. Although the plastic bowl didn't inflict harm, it drove all of them to run faster as the Mask pushed Kotori's body after them in a blind rage.

"Now you've gone and done it you stupid cat!" Rin let out a nervous laugh, "Don't worry Nico-chan, Kayo-chin should be up ahead. We have to jump over the car!"

"What do you mean by jump?!"

"Don't worry, Niccochi. This is a guaranteed plan, given you can jump over a car! But, you're still short so maybe-..." Nico cutoff the teasing, "Seriously, at a time like this Nozomi?! Eli, is this seriously the plan?" Eli apologetically nodded. "But don't worry, our backup will save us." At least they'd better, or she'd haunt them.

"Who the hell would that be?!" Nico cried.

* * *

Kotori spectated the ongoing chase and prayed they had a real plan, because draining her stamina wasn't a viable option.

It occurred to Kotori, while she did rest in the car and by no means weak, the Mask had made her run quite a lot. First there was the rapid dashes around the warehouse at a speed she thought only Umi could achieve, and now there was this instance where she'd been chasing Nico. Did the Mask enhance her, or was her body being pushed to the limit? While the latter was good for her friends, she selfishly hoped it was the former. If this kept continuing, she may die from exhaustion, and dying from possession was not on her list of ways to die.

She snapped back to reality as she saw the group charging towards a dead-end, which wasn't a wall but a car. They were essentially the same, because people would rather die than use their ability to jump. So, Kotori held her imaginary breath as they all charged towards the car with no way out.

Were the alleyways always so constricting? Weren't there more gaps between the buildings? Why couldn't the architecture be more convenient for victims?

"Jump-nya!" Kotori blinked back to the sight of the four vaulting over the car in synch. She hadn't seen such flawless coordination since... no, they were μ's so it shouldn't have been a surprise. Miracles always happened for them, even at the strangest of times.

"W-wait!" Kotori became keen on her increasing speed. "I- We're jumping?!" She internally screeched as her body made the motions to jump over the car in a near identical, flawless manner as her friends. Considering all the physically taxing ordeals she'd gone through in this short timespan, it would be successful.

Kotori whimpered as she saw her panting friends stare up at her, paused in front of the car, as she was coming down from her leap with gleaming scissors in her grasp. Her internal cry of dismay turned into one of shock as something stabbed into her back, an unexpected sensation, in place of her skin feeling fresh blood splatter. Her world was darkening.

The last things she processed were a few more stabbing sensations going into her back, the scissors flying from her grasp as she hit the ground, and her friends reaching towards her.

* * *

"Maki-chan!" Nico beamed, lunging for a hug. "You came for me?"

Embarrassedly, Maki received the hug. "W-well, yeah. And for everyone else. I came straight from the hospital with my rifle when I heard the plan from Hanayo. Although...", Maki narrowed her eyes at the three members of the rescue party, "Why did you need saving too? Especially you, Eli. Didn't you have a better Plan A? Getting caught is pretty pathetic." Eli let out an exasperated sigh, "Maki, all that matters is that Plan B worked and no one was hurt... badly." Eli gave Maki a glare, which the latter shrugged off. It wouldn't be the first time Eli silently wanted to punch her.

"Whatever, Eli. You've already shoved her into the car, right? Let's get back to our base already, we might not have a lot of time before Kotori gains some sort of poison resistance with her magical mask." Maki glanced to the open backseat, where Kotori laid tied and faced down. "And I'd like to treat the damage on her before Umi comes. If we didn't wear this custom protective crap, I wouldn't have to use this rifle to fire darts into her spine. Well, not her spine, but- you know what I mean." Maki ran a tired hand through her hair, "God, I need a nap after this," she mumbled.

"While I encourage you to rest missy, I'm going to stay behind. There's totally evidence left back there," Nico stated. "And if Hanayo is going to be pulled in, the police will definitely know I was chasing the dead guy as soon as she starts retracing his steps. Not to mention, there's that woman's purse Kotori stabbed."

"There was also the entire chase fiasco." Eli pursed her lips, "Kotori may be fine because of the gloves, but the things we threw at her may have our prints. Unfortunately, the mutilation is too distinct, and there shouldn't be any copycat killers because the other murders haven't been made public. Nico can't easily say she didn't see the killer... This'll be a lot of work. For now, Nozomi, Maki and Hanayo will secure Kotori. The rest of us will be on cleanup duty, with a little brainstorming on a coverup. Everybody, let's get to work!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha. Ramen bowl.  
I can't believe I got inspiration from a bowl; crying.
> 
> On a serious note, I realized the previous chapter had some timeline errors that happened in my writing rush, at the time.


End file.
